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Kathryn Flueck: CU football -- A power-drunk athletic director

Posted:
12/03/2012 01:00:00 AM MST

I protest Coach Jon Embree's termination. A more honest, caring, thoughtful coach who "bleeds black and gold" has never graced the University of Colorado campus. Embree is not yet the consummate coach, but he is early in his career, has demonstrated willingness to learn and has the potential to improve immensely. Unlike Dan Hawkins, whose response to the downhill trajectory of his program was to request contract extensions, Embree strives to improve, as do his players.

Embree's teams did worse than Hawkins' teams, but look at the programs and players each inherited and the football conferences in which they competed. Embree's 2012 team may have been among the worst, but it was also one of the youngest. Those players will be increasingly competitive in 2013, with a promising quarterback who red-shirted this year. How many of Embree's players were arrested? Dropped out of school? Were declared academically ineligible? None? Embree was their mentor, on and off the field.

Mike Bohn fired Embree because Bohn didn't see "synergy" in the program and because of its "trajectory." Bohn saw synergy in that team at Monday's press conference. Did he know he would not have the "trajectory" excuse next year?

Embree had a five-year contract to rebuild the program. Concurrently, CU joined the Pac-12, increasing that job's difficulty. Firing Embree after two years is unconscionable and despicable. Bill McCartney went 1-10 in his third year, then became the greatest coach in CU football history.

Bohn acts like a power-drunk Donald Trump wannabe. He gave CU athletics a black eye and turned CU into a laughing stock. He lied to Embree, and by extrapolation to the players and the community, casting a pall over the department and placing CU in difficult financial straits. How can I now support any program Bohn oversees?

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